SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. –Utah Valley's Sam Lubcke scored a career-high 20 points versus Central Michigan, but the Chippewas left with a 71-62 win over Utah Valley Friday afternoon to open the Cal Poly Share SLO Tournament at the Robert A. Motts Center.
 
Lubcke,  a native of Murray Bridge, Australia, shot 8-of-9 from the field to finish with the most points by a Wolverine (0-5) in a game this season. The 6'8, Australian-born center also pulled down seven rebounds and hit four free throws in her best performance donning a Utah Valley uniform after transferring from the junior college ranks.
 
"It was definitely Sam's [Lubcke] best game here at Utah Valley," said Utah Valley head coach Cathy Nixon. "I feel like today we took some steps forward. I felt like we competed for a majority of the game, which has been one of our focuses this season."
 
In the second quarter, UVU broke even with Central Michigan (3-2) and then took a brief lead after Lubcke scored the first six points of the quarter. Lubcke, who had eight points in the period, made back-to-back baskets in the paint and drained a free throw to give Utah Valley a 19-18 lead with 3:59 to go in the half.
 
Junior guard Mariah Seals led all Wolverines in the game's first 20 minutes with nine first-half points and 13 for the game, including eight of the squad's 11 points in the opening frame. A native of Richmond, Calif., Seals hit two threes in the first quarter and added a layup to spark Utah Valley's offense.
 
The Chippewas countered the UVU scoring with two straight three-pointers from Aleah Swary and Jaeda Robinson within a 30 second span to help Central Michigan take a 27-23 lead into the halftime break.
 
Utah Valley's quick rotations on defense were crucial in holding Central Michigan to 3-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc in the first half, while holding the Chippewas' top scorer Cassie Breen without a three-point basket during that span.
 
"She [Breen] is a prolific scorer. I thought we did a good job of holding her down a little bit today," Nixon said.
 
The Wolverines received another boost from the post in the third quarter, as Lubcke tacked on six more points to her total and Seals made a layup heading into the fourth quarter. UVU ended the period with an 8-4 points in the paint advantage, while going on to finish the game with a 24-20 advantage over Central Michigan.
 
Despite Utah Valley's successful post play, Central Michigan caught fire from downtown at the start of the second half and made six of its nine second-half three-pointers in the third quarter to extend its lead to 51-38. The Chippewas went on to finish with 12 three-pointers made compared to eight for the Wolverines.
 
After falling behind by as many as 20 in the fourth quarter, UVU continued to battle and went on a 10-3 run to close out the game. Britta Hall sparked the Wolverine last minute surge with a corner three, followed by a layup by Lubcke and another three-pointer by Taylor Gordon.
 
"We hung tough with them there in the fourth quarter when we fell behind by 20 points. We had to make a choice to compete and I thought the girls hung in there to keep us in the game,"
 
With the score at 70-62, Central Michigan's lead was cut to single digits for the first time since halfway mark in the third quarter. However, the Wolverines were forced to foul with one second remaining  and the Chippewas drained one final free throw before the game clock wound down to hang on for the win.
 
UVU held an advantage at the line with 21 free-throw attempts to finish the game with 10 more foul shots than Central Michigan. In spite of the advantage in drawing fouls, free throws proved to be the difference in the contest as Utah Valley converted just 12-of-21 shots from the charity stripe.
 
The Wolverines face a quick turnaround in the Cal Poly Share SLO Holiday Tournament, as they take on host Cal Poly on Saturday with tip-off at 2:30 p.m. MT.